“`html
The Daily Mail’s parent company has reached an agreement to acquire the Daily and Sunday Telegraph for £500 million.
Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) announced it has entered discussions with RedBird IMI, a joint venture between the United Arab Emirates and U.S. private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners.
RedBird Capital’s previous bid for control of the Telegraph collapsed last week.
The deal is contingent upon approval from Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer. A spokesperson stated that Frazer will “review any new buyer acquiring the Telegraph in line with the public interest and foreign state influence media mergers regimes.”
The Telegraph’s ownership has been uncertain for over two years, after the RedBird IMI consortium settled the debts of the Telegraph’s former owners, the Barclay family, with ambitions of ultimately acquiring the newspapers.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, expressed her desire to see “a resolution to the uncertainty that’s hampered the Telegraph for years,” while emphasizing “the need for media plurality.”
“This situation has been unsustainable for the business and unsettling for staff so I hope the government set out its position early next week,” she added.
“The Committee have largely stayed out of the discussion to date, because takeovers are quasi judicial in terms of the Government’s role.”
DMGT and RedBird IMI indicated their expectation that the transaction will be finalized expeditiously.
DMGT Chairman Lord Rothermere affirmed his “long admiration for the Daily Telegraph” and stated the deal would provide “much-needed certainty and confidence” to its employees.
He commented: “The Daily Telegraph is Britain’s largest and best quality broadsheet newspaper and I have grown up respecting it. It has a remarkable history and has played a vital role in shaping Britain’s national debate over many decades.”
He further noted: “Chris Evans is an excellent editor and we intend to give him the resources to invest in the newsroom. Under our ownership, the Daily Telegraph will become a global brand, just as the Daily Mail has.”
The acquisition would integrate the Telegraph into DMGT’s existing portfolio of media assets, including the i Paper, Metro, and New Scientist, alongside the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday publications.
The group emphasized that the Telegraph would maintain editorial independence from DMGT’s other titles.
DMGT maintains that its case for approval is “compelling” and would comply with UK regulations, as the proposed funding structure would exclude foreign state investment or capital.
A RedBird IMI spokesperson stated: “DMGT and RedBird IMI have worked swiftly to reach the agreement announced today, which will shortly be submitted to the secretary of state.”
Chris Fox, Liberal Democrat Lords spokesperson for business, remarked: “A move towards a potential deal to end the uncertainty that has plagued the Telegraph’s future should certainly be considered.”
“But, of course as Liberals, we are sceptical about concentrating so much agenda-setting power in the hands of so few.”
He urged the competitions’ regulator to “rigorously examine” the terms of the agreement to “ensure we don’t get an even more unbalanced media market for consumers and competitors.”
RedBird Capital withdrew from its previous attempt to acquire the Telegraph last week.
An earlier bid was rejected by politicians due to its majority funding by Abu Dhabi’s IMI group, owned by the Abu Dhabi royal family.
Recent legal changes stipulate that foreign sovereign wealth funds can hold a maximum stake of 15% in newspapers or periodicals.
RedBird’s more recent bid adhered to this rule, but the government reportedly intended to subject the deal to regulatory review.
Sources close to RedBird asserted confidence that the bid would have successfully navigated a government review, but cited negative reports from the Telegraph’s newsroom as a contributing factor in their decision to withdraw.
RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale had envisioned expanding the Telegraph’s reach and subscriber base in the U.S., identifying a market opportunity.
RedBird’s investments also include the Italian football club AC Milan.
Gavin Burrows says an alleged confession dated 2021 was “prepared by others without my knowledge”.
The Associated Print site at Carn Industrial Estate in Portadown is set to close this autumn.
The Duke of Sussex faces £48,000 in legal costs after losing part of an ongoing libel battle.
They want Associated Newspapers to release its records of payments to private investigators.
Two journalists were summoned by Sir Lindsay Hoyle to discuss an article about Labour’s deputy leader.
“`